<font size="6"><center>Exxon dismisses buyout bid</font size></center>
Reuters
Monday October 31, 11:40 AM EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), the world's largest publicly traded oil company, on Monday dismissed a bid by a little-known Chinese company called King Win Laurel Ltd. to acquire it for $450 billion in cash.
King Win filed papers Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission offering to buy Exxon for $35 plus 283.5 yuan per share. The company said the offer was subject to financing.
"We are not aware of any communication from King Win Laurel Limited that has been delivered to the corporation. We do not believe that King Win Laurel Limited is financially capable of making such a tender offer," Exxon spokesman Dave Gardner said in a statement.
King Win said it was incorporated in New Zealand on October 21 for the sole purpose of buying Exxon. A call to the Beijing number for King Win in the SEC documents elicited only a busy signal.
"It's difficult to measure this offer as little is known about how the bidder would finance the transaction," BOSC Inc. debt analyst Jon Cartwright said. "While our initial feeling is to ignore the offer, it is academically possible that the bidder could receive funding, making this offer real."
Last year, an entity called King Win Laurel International Ltd. launched an unsolicited offer to acquire Telstra , which was also dismissed as a hoax. King Win Laurel International also launched a bid in 2004 for Restaurant Brands, which was dismissed by New Zealand regulators.
"We understand that King Win Laurel Limited has previously made offers on other companies that did not go forward," Exxon said.
Shares in Exxon were down 9 cents at $56.22 in late-morning New York Stock Exchange trading.
http://money.iwon.com/ht/nw/bus/20051031/hl_bus-rob159980.html?PG=home&SEC=news
Reuters
Monday October 31, 11:40 AM EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), the world's largest publicly traded oil company, on Monday dismissed a bid by a little-known Chinese company called King Win Laurel Ltd. to acquire it for $450 billion in cash.
King Win filed papers Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission offering to buy Exxon for $35 plus 283.5 yuan per share. The company said the offer was subject to financing.
"We are not aware of any communication from King Win Laurel Limited that has been delivered to the corporation. We do not believe that King Win Laurel Limited is financially capable of making such a tender offer," Exxon spokesman Dave Gardner said in a statement.
King Win said it was incorporated in New Zealand on October 21 for the sole purpose of buying Exxon. A call to the Beijing number for King Win in the SEC documents elicited only a busy signal.
"It's difficult to measure this offer as little is known about how the bidder would finance the transaction," BOSC Inc. debt analyst Jon Cartwright said. "While our initial feeling is to ignore the offer, it is academically possible that the bidder could receive funding, making this offer real."
Last year, an entity called King Win Laurel International Ltd. launched an unsolicited offer to acquire Telstra , which was also dismissed as a hoax. King Win Laurel International also launched a bid in 2004 for Restaurant Brands, which was dismissed by New Zealand regulators.
"We understand that King Win Laurel Limited has previously made offers on other companies that did not go forward," Exxon said.
Shares in Exxon were down 9 cents at $56.22 in late-morning New York Stock Exchange trading.
http://money.iwon.com/ht/nw/bus/20051031/hl_bus-rob159980.html?PG=home&SEC=news
